After witnessing a bank robbery and foiling the suspect in his attempt to get away, nineteen-year-old cab driver, Ed Kennedy, who has always had very little ambition to make anything of his life, starts receiving mysterious messages written on playing cards. He ultimately figures out he has been chosen, for some unknown reason, to enter into the lives of various people in his small town, and as a result changing their lives—and his own—forever.

I Am the Messenger, by award-winning author Markus Zusak, is one of those titles that I wished could go on and on. Although I finished reading the book several days ago, I actually miss Ed and his friends, so poignantly brought to life via Zusak's hand. Ed's reactions to the events happening in his life--and the questions they raise for his future--take on human features that actually make them seem like primary characters. And there was something about that style of writing that made the actual experience of reading the book feel like a big hug. What could be better?